There’s no shame in loving your local bands, so when acts like OCEANHOARSE and ARION pair up for a show at Tiivistämö, it’s never a bad idea to go. ARION have been doing a short 3-day Finnish tour over the Easter weekend, starting in Tampere, stopping in Kouvola, and ending in Helsinki on April 8th, 2023.
First of all, OCEANHOARSE are generally just a fun band to watch. Their straightforward blasting heavy metal works wonderfully in a live situation, and songs like “Heads Will Roll” are massive walls of force – it was a shame to see the crowd struggling to warm up (especially since these guys had the best mosh-pit of the year so far at their album release show). Granted, it took that crowd a while to warm up then also, so it was at least nice to see that the crowd wasn’t too scared to be up front on this occasion. Admittedly, it is a bit baffling to see people standing so still in the face of such great music, nonetheless.
Tiivistämö had a nice setup with a black screen, so the band’s logo was displayed animated on the backdrop. I probably should be more hyped on the new album, but songs like “The One with the Gun” and “Locks” are the ones that still hit me the hardest time and time again. Ben Varon‘s hair fan was once again making him look cool as hell… and then suddenly it seemed like it was over before it began! Surely their set went far too quickly!
ARION took the stage at 22:10, a bit late per the playtimes (but that was still just 30 minutes to change the stage over), as their intro played and the crowd cheered loudly. They opened with the powerful “No One Stands in My Way” from their second-last album – I always recommend a new song to start a live set, but that’s such a good track that it doesn’t matter.
The energy was pretty strong on stage, so it was sad to see the crowd hadn’t warmed up much, but they did get their hands waving to “Punish You” when Lassi Vääränen encouraged them. It was also nice to hear a lot of screaming between songs, even if the crowd weren’t partying much. “Seven” was another nice cut from their back catalog, though I am sad that they’ve been picking it over “Last of Us” lately, though that’s just my personal preference. Lassi greeted the crowd after a few tracks, talked a bit about the recent tour with DREAM THEATER, and thanked the crowd for coming out.
The selection of new material was also great – songs like “I Love to Be Your Enemy,” “Out of My Life,” “I’m Here to Save You,” and “In the Name of Love” make for great live tracks, and of course both Iivo Kaipainen and Arttu Vauhkonen were able to do guitar and keyboard solos respectively, to make sure we remember just how good they all are.
The set wrapped up with “Bloodline,” a personal favorite and a great live track, but of course they came back for “You’re My Melody” and their big fan-favorite, “At the Break of Dawn.” All-in-all, a good show and a nice ending, even if I’d prefer that Lassi would sing one of his own ballads in the encore, to allow for a bit more feeling (I know, I know, it’s their most popular ballad, shame on me). Small personal preferences aside, these guys are simply a good time every time, making for a nice way to spend your Easter Saturday! Next time they’re in your neighborhood, don’t miss out!
Written by Bear Wiseman
Setlist
- No One Stands in My Way
- A Vulture Dies Alone
- Punish You
- Seven
- I Love to Be Your Enemy
- keyboard solo
- Break My Chains
- I Don’t Fear You
- Out of My Life
- Unforgivable
- In the Name of Love
- Bloodline
- I’m Here to Save You
- You’re My Melody (encore)
- At the Break of Dawn (encore)
